


My Own Damn Fault

by bookwyrrm



Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: Humor, M/M, idiot plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 11:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20357671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookwyrrm/pseuds/bookwyrrm
Summary: Jed's long blond hair was whipping about his face and, as he let out a primal whoop, Octavius thought that Jed looked like an ancient warrior in the midst of battle. His mouth was suddenly dry.-A new night guard joins the crew. There are hijinks, as expected. There are jokes, as expected. There are love confessions, which is new.





	My Own Damn Fault

“Do you think I should write my own rulebook?” Larry asked Teddy. “Dexter tore mine to pieces about five minutes into the job, but in those first four minutes it was pretty helpful.” 

Teddy nodded sagely. “What about sending one through the Internets?” 

Larry shuddered. “It’s Internet, singular, and I hesitate to think of what that little demon could do with a phone. I’ll just make a bunch of copies for Tilly to find.”

"I have complete confidence in your hiring decisions, dear boy. I'm sure Tilly will perform excellently." 

"Thanks, Teddy." Larry remembered when he had first started working at the museum and grimaced. "If you'll excuse me, I have some little people to yell at in advance." 

Teddy nudged his horse and began to ride away. "You must excuse me first. I'm afraid tonight is date night." 

"Every night is date night with you two! You'll make me regret setting you guys up!" 

"You mustn't keep a lady waiting, Lawrence!" Teddy waved a cheerful hand over his shoulder. "Remember that!" 

"Yeah, yeah." Larry went to find his friends. 

He caught up with Jed and Octavius just as they were finishing a triumphant battle. 

“An’ stay out!” Jed yelled, waving his lasso threateningly at the last of the fleeing ants. 

Octavius turned to his troops. “I claim this snack room for the Roman Empire!” 

The Romans cheered while Jed’s crew complained. 

“What’s going on here?” Larry asked. “You can’t claim this room for the Roman Empire. For one thing, it doesn’t exist anymore.” 

“Lies and slander!” Octavius was conducting his men in some sort of old Latin drinking song. 

“What about you, Jed? What about America? Don’t you want this for Manifest Destiny, or whatever?” 

Jed shrugged. “Sure I do, but he claimed it first, Gigantor. Them’s the rules.” 

Octavius slapped Jed on the back. “You’ll get it next time, friend.” 

Jed slapped Octavius on the back, a little more forcefully. “Thanks, friend.” 

Octavius swung his arms, as if he weren’t sure what to do with them, then slapped Jed again (Jed stumbled forward) and walked away. 

“Okay…” Larry said. “Anyway, the new security guard has a trial run tomorrow night. I want you guys to behave, got it? No sieges, no funny business, no tying her to the train tracks like a Disney villain. I really want Tilly to stay with this job for at least a week, because I’ve been saving up my vacation days and Jimmy Buffett is in town.” 

Jed gave him the OK sign. “Got it.” 

“Are you sure?” Larry eyed him suspiciously. “And you’ll tell everyone else to behave?” 

“Yep. Don’t you worry, I’ll keep everything under control.” 

“Good news everyone!” Jed announced to the other miniatures as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. “Larry said we can do whatever we want!” 

He was met with loud cheers. 

“Did he really say that?” Apoxpalon, that ass kisser, asked skeptically. The other Mayans looked between the three leaders apprehensively. 

“He did, I was there.” Octavius stepped forward, resting his hand between Jed’s shoulder blades. 

Apoxpalon still looked unconvinced. 

Jed lowered his voice and said conspiratorially. “Look, Apoxpalon — can I call you Pal?” 

“No.” 

“Look, Pal, even if that’s not _exactly _what Larry said, is he the boss of you?” 

Octavius raised his eyebrows. “That’s a good point.” 

“Is he the ruler of the Mayans?” 

Apoxpalon considered this. “No, he isn’t.” 

“Exactly, he isn’t.” 

“But—” Apoxpalon pointed out, “he is the leader of the museum. Sort of.” 

Jed scoffed, disgusted. “Leader of the museum? Now that’s a stretch.” 

Octavius jumped in. “Larry wasn’t elected, he just showed up one day. You know what that is? That’s a dictatorship.” 

“Hm. You know, _I _was elected,” Apoxpalon said. 

Jed rolled his eyes. “Believe us, we know. Whattdya think, Poxy? Ready to go a little wild? Raise a little hell?” 

Apoxpalon took a deep breath. “I am! Yeah, I am!” 

The assembled miniatures below cheered. 

Apoxpalon whooped loudly. “Boys’ night!” 

“Boys’ night!” Jed reached behind Apoxpalon’s back to request a low five from Octavius. Their hands connected with a satisfying _smack. _His palm tingled_._ “Who wants to go for a joyride?” 

There was something about being in the car that made Octavius feel wild and bubbly, especially when Jed was driving. They went speeding around corners like the wind, the car’s wheels skidding on the museum’s marble floors. Octavius glanced over at Jed whose foot was pressing the gas as far down as it could go, driving like he didn’t have a care in the world. 

Jed’s hat went flying off and Octavius caught it. He had always wondered about the rough leather of the hat, but when Octavius ran his hand along the edge he found that the material had been worn smooth. He looked over, for it was rare to see Jed without his hat on, just as it was rare to see Octavius without his helmet. Jed's long blond hair was whipping about his face and, as he let out a primal whoop, Octavius thought that Jed looked like an ancient warrior in the midst of battle. His mouth was suddenly dry. 

“This is awesome!” Apoxpalon yelled from the backseat, and Octavius was brought back to the present. He looked away from Jed and made a rude face out the window at Tilly. The new night guard was running after them looking frustrated. Legions of Roman soldiers followed in pursuit. Octavius’ men had just discovered Silly String, and they were very excited about it. 

“Here come the stairs!” Jed yelled. “Hold onto your seatbelts, baby!” 

It’s unclear who he was addressing — maybe Tilly, maybe himself, maybe the air. The car went bouncing down the stairs, and its occupants yelled in delight. Jed looked over at Octavius and grinned, wide and feral. Octavius got a weird, tight feeling in his chest. It was probably just from the car, he thought, and watched Jed smile. 

“Do you think we scared her away?” Jed asked. 

“We won’t know until next week,” Octavius replied, shaking Silly String off of his cape. “If you want my opinion, I think she’ll come back.” 

“I hope so.” Jed stopped behind an empty statue base to catch his breath. “Did you see Genghis Khan’s face? She sure told him what’s what.” 

Octavius shuddered. “Sixteen million descendants, can you imagine? And one of them shows up right at your door.” 

He turned to Jed and started in surprise at the sight. Jed was methodically divesting himself of his hat, vest, and shirt, but Octavius stared, frozen, finding it hard to form a coherent thought. 

“So how do you want to do this?” Jed asked calmly. “Obviously neither of us has…” he gestured to his pants, “… so I’m okay with just kissing if that works for you.” 

“What the hell?” Octavius managed. 

“I know, I know. I guess we can try some things out, see what works and what doesn’t.” 

“What are you— will you put your clothes back on!” Octavius found that he was yelling. His face burned. 

“Alright,” Jed said, his own voice rising. “Well you’re giving me mixed signals! I thought this was what you wanted!” 

“You thought— you thought I wanted…!”

“Well, yeah!” Huffily, Jed pulled on his shirt and vest. “It happens all the time with my folk! I know your people did this too, you can’t lie.” 

“I—yes, of course physical relationships are very common in my legions.” 

“So what’s the problem?” 

“The problem is, that’s not what I want! We’re best friends, I don’t want a… a _physical relationship _with you!” 

Jed frowned. “Oh. Well you should have told me that!” 

“Oh, so this is all my fault?” 

“Yeah, it is!” 

“Good, Jedidiah, that’s really mature!" He stared after Jed as the cowboy stalked away. Heat and anger were flooding Octavius' skin. "Where are you going?” 

Jed slammed the car door. “I’m leaving! You clearly don’t want me around.” 

Octavius blustered. “Well, how am I supposed to get home?” 

“You can walk,” Jed said savagely, and drove away.

As the museum closed the next evening, Larry took up his post at the front desk again, anxious to hear about the other night. Tilly hadn’t told him anything — in fact, he hadn’t heard from her all day. Larry, on the other hand, had spent his free night reviewing the lyrics to Margaritaville in order to fit in at the Buffett concerts. God, he hoped everything had worked out.

A bony muzzle shoved itself in his face. Larry chuckled and cradled the T-rex’s nose in his palms. 

“Hi, Rexy! Did you miss me?” 

The tail bones wagged. 

“You did? I missed you, too! Yes I did. Yes, I did.” 

Someone cleared their throat. 

Larry straightened up, pretending he hadn’t just been baby-talking a centuries-old dinosaur. “Teddy.” 

“Welcome back, Lawrence.” 

“How was last night? Tilly do okay?” 

“She handled it marvelously. Much better than you did your first time, if you don’t mind me saying so.” 

Larry threw Rexy’s bone for him, and the dinosaur happily tromped off. “That’s great! I’m so glad to hear that! I confess I was worried the minis might have declared war on her.” 

“Ah,” Teddy grimaced. 

“What?” Larry said, suspiciously. “What was that?” 

“Oh, nothing! Nothing! It’s just… there’s been a development.” 

Larry narrowed his eyes. 

“Fire!” Octavius shouted. 

Jed yelled a battle cry back.

“What’s going on?” Larry entered the Hall of Miniatures to find the his two small friends yelling at each other. “Jed, Octavius! I leave for one night and you guys start fighting again? Seriously?” 

They looked up at him sullenly for a moment. 

Octavius said, “Jed started it.” 

“Oh, real nice,” Jed snarked back. 

“Quiet!” Larry said as they started to talk over each other again. “Apoxpalon, is that popcorn?” 

The Mayan people looked guiltily at each other. 

“Sorry, Larry,” Apoxpalon said. “We couldn’t stop them.” 

“Did you even try?” 

Apoxpalon developed a sudden interest in his bowl of snacks. 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Indus River Valley? Industrial Revolution? Nobody?” 

The miniatures he had just called out muttered among themselves in embarrassment. 

“So you all just watched them fight? Wait a minute—” Larry turned to look at the other Roman and Wild West minis, who were sitting on the ground looking bored. “Why aren’t the rest of you fighting?” 

“We’re tired of fighting,” a Roman soldier said. “The Americans are our friends now.” 

A stout washerwoman on Jed’s side drawled out, “And this seems like a personal sort of matter.” 

“It’s just those two who are trying to fight again. Well, the rest of us don’t want to. We strike!” 

Octavius whirled around. “Strike? Who said that? Julius, have you been talking to the women’s suffrage movement again?” 

“A personal matter,” Larry mused. “Well, if that’s the case…” 

He picked up Jed and Octavius by their hats and dropped them on top of the nearby bench. 

“Boo!” Someone called from the Industrial Revolution exhibit. “Let them fight, we were making bets!” 

Larry ignored that. “What is going on here? Now listen, I’m not mad at you. I’m just disappointed.” 

“Aw…” Jed groaned. 

“That’s worse,” Octavius murmured in agreement. “That’s so much worse.” 

“Look, everyone has disagreements sometimes,” Larry said. “Even best friends. Sometimes it helps to talk it out.” 

Jed crossed his arms. “I ain’t talking to him.” 

Octavius aimed a kick at Jed’s leg. 

“Ow!” Jed said, and kicked him back. 

“Ouch!” 

“Guys!” Larry interrupted. “Cut it out! What the hell is happening with you two?” 

Jed and Octavius resolutely turned their backs on each other. 

“Okay,” Larry said, desperately trying to remember the seminar on Conflict Management that the museum had made him go to. “New plan. What if you don’t have to tell each other what’s bothering you? You can tell me instead. You won’t even have to look at each other.” 

He watched them consider it. 

“You can sit on my shoulders,” Larry coaxed. “I know you like that.” 

“Like the angel and the devil?” Octavius said. 

“Exactly! Just like that. What do you say, guys?” 

Jed scratched his head. “Fine. As long as I don’t have to look or talk to _him._” 

“Likewise.” Octavius’ face crumpled into knots. 

This was even more concerning, but Larry tried not to show the worry on his face. He knelt down so Octavius and Jed could clamber onto his shoulders, then carefully sat down on the bench, moving slowly so as not to dislodge anyone. 

Truth be told, Larry had spent most of the Conflict Management seminar napping, but he racked his brains for anything he could remember. There was a lot of focus on each person feeling heard, but Larry didn’t think that would be much of a problem here. He was pretty sure the men on his shoulders had spent the last hour ensuring that everyone on their entire floor could hear them. Larry said, “So, how did this start?” 

There was a brief silence, then Jed sighed. “I guess it started with my suggestion.”

“Your suggestion?” Larry said. “Okay, what was that suggestion?” 

“It was… uh…” 

“To eat pizza,” Octavius put in. 

“Right,” Jed agreed. “Thank you, Octy, it was to eat pizza.” 

“You guys have never had pizza?” Larry asked, incredulously. “No, you know what, that’s not the larger issue here. But hey, you were getting along for a second there! Not so hard, is it?” 

They only grunted at him. 

“Fine,” Larry said, “so Octavius, what did you think of that?” 

Octavius’ voice was very quiet. “I said no. I was just surprised, you can’t spring… pizza… on someone out of the blue.”

“And, Jed, were you upset by that?” Larry asked. 

“Well, yeah.” Jed’s voice was equally uncertain. “I guess it hurt my feelings a little. I mean, damn, I’m a sensitive guy, you know?”

“I know,” Larry said. “Octavius, do you see why Jed was hurt by that?” 

“Yeah,” said Octavius. “Yeah, I do. And it’s not that I don’t _like _pizza. I mean, if I were to try pizza with anyone… no, but we’re best friends! These things always end badly and I just— I don’t want to ruin what we have.” 

Jed sounded sad. “Alright, then. I guess that settles it.” 

Larry prompted, “Do you two have anything else you want to say to each other?” 

“I’m sorry I hurt you, Jedidiah,” Octavius said. “That was never my intention.” 

Larry held his breath. A moment of silence passed. 

“Aw, shucks, apology accepted. I’m sorry, too, Octy. I hate fighting with you.” Jed sounded suspiciously cheerful. 

Larry glanced down and saw the cowboy wearing a strained smile. He wondered about that, but said out loud, “Are you guys ready to be friends again?” 

He held out a hand to each of them, and they hopped off his shoulders, clinging to his palms. He set them onto the bench next to each other. “I think this went really well, guys. Hug it out?”

Jed and Octavius tentatively wrapped their arms around each other, and then they stayed there for a long time. 

After a few minutes Larry said, “I’m still not entirely sure what just happened, but you know that I can bring you guys pizza if you want, right?” 

Jed broke away from the hug and made a face. 

Octavius said, “Not everything is about you, Larry,” and turned to watch Jed laugh. 

Larry pointed finger guns at him. “And they’re back.”

He was worried about Jed’s overly upbeat reaction, but Larry put it out of his mind for now. At least if the two of them were making fun of him together, things were getting back to normal around here. 

Larry caught up with Tilly as she walked into the museum the next evening for work. 

She greeted him with a hearty punch in the arm. “What are you doing here, Daley? Thought you were going on vacation!” 

Larry tried to inconspicuously rub his arm, where he was sure to have a bruise tomorrow morning. “Well, I’m here to pick up my buddy.” 

His buddy was currently saying goodbye to a group of kindergarteners in the corner opposite them. Rebecca looked up and waved cheerfully at Larry, even as she was smothered by fifteen tiny raincoats intent on giving her a hug. 

Larry waved back, grinning. Looking around, he lowered his voice and followed Tilly into the staff room. “I also wanted to check in about the other night. I know your first night on the job can be overwhelming and—”

“It’s cool, Daley,” Tilly interrupted. “I’m not weirded out, your Egyptian friend explained everything to me. I understand why you didn’t tell me beforehand, though. I would’ve sent you straight to the looney bin!” 

Larry laughed. “I hardly believed it myself when I first saw it. Did everyone behave?” 

Tilly sighed and pulled on her jacket. “I think there was some Silly String in the lost and found?” 

“Oh, no.” 

“Yeah. The monkey brought it out and let me tell you, Daley, that stuff gets everywhere.” She fixed him with a stare. “_Everywhere._” 

He winced. “Sorry about that. I’ll talk to them tonight before I leave.” 

But Tilly waved him off. “No need. I grabbed a can and Silly String’ed them right back.” 

Now, that was an amusing image. Tilly was a big, tough woman with a thick New York accent and a voice like she gargled rocks every morning. Larry had no doubt that she could handle herself against anything the museum occupants threw at her. 

A voice from the doorway said, “Larry’s just worried about leaving his babies for a week.” 

“How’d you get away from the little kid avalanche? I thought you’d be lost forever,” Larry asked Rebecca. 

She smiled at him. “Oh, I have my ways.” 

A voice on the PA announced politely, “_The museum is now closing.” _

Tilly chuckled. “Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll call you if anything goes wrong. I know the rules.” 

Larry looked pleadingly at the two women in front of him. “At least let me say goodbye! Then we can go, Becks.” 

Tilly and Rebecca looked at each other, considering. 

“We’ll allow it,” Rebecca said finally. 

“But five minutes only,” Tilly put in. “You’re not spending your whole vacation here at the museum.” 

“Deal.” Larry led the way out into the main hall. The three made quiet conversation for a while, until the sun finally went down and the exhibits started to move. 

“It gives me shivers every time,” Rebecca whispered to Tilly as the huge skeleton slowly came to life. 

Tilly was smiling softly. “Me too.” 

“Lawrence!” Teddy Roosevelt cried gleefully. “Why are you still here, my boy?” 

Larry stammered. “Well, I just wanted to check that everything’s in order one last time before we leave. Tilly, you know not to open to Deep Oceans exhibit, right? Just leave the whales to whatever they get up to, or it will—”

“Flood the place. I know, Larry.” Tilly looked at her watch meaningfully. 

“Yeah, okay. Just a few more minutes. I just want to make sure…” Larry jogged up the steps. “You have toys for the Neanderthals, right? Nothing too complicated or they’ll just give up and eat it.” 

“Time to go, dum-dum,” the Moai head boomed out as they passed.

“I know, I know. It’s like you guys are trying to get rid of me,” Larry complained. 

A hand was placed on his shoulder, and he turned to see Ahkmenrah wearing his usual calm expression. “Rest assured, we are not trying to get rid of you. Your presence will be missed, and we wish you a peaceful period of rest.” 

“Oh,” Larry said, the wind taken out of his sails. “Well, thanks.” 

Rebecca said, “Feeling better? Tilly will take care of everyone, we promise.” 

Tilly nodded and cracked her knuckles to show her support. 

Larry took a deep breath. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Well, goodbye everyone! Be good for Tilly, or I’ll put you in storage!” 

Someone said, “I thought he was gone already.” 

Larry whirled around with a glare, but he couldn’t make out who had muttered that. Rebecca and Tilly were now bodily steering him towards the exit.

“I’ll have them all in bed by seven, Mom,” Tilly said. 

Playing into the role, Larry turned to her and grinned. “There’s dinner in the fridge. Don’t open the door to strangers!” 

She saluted him. 

Larry saluted her back, and watched the doors close behind him. 

Inside, Tilly turned to look at the museum residents who had gathered behind her to watch Larry leave. She said, “Who wants to play Sardines?” 

Jed found Octavius dangling his legs over the edge of the second floor, peacefully watching the scene below. Jed ducked under the bottom of the fence and joined him. “This seat taken?” 

Octavius looked up and smiled. “Please sit, it’s all yours.” 

Jed did. 

Down on the first floor, Sacagawea was singing sweetly to a small audience that included Teddy, Christopher Columbus, and an elephant, along with a few other familiar faces. 

The museum was quiet. After the initial burst of energy had been spent, there was usually a period of calm in the middle of the night before the second wind of shenanigans. Jed spotted some other faces peering out of the stairwell to listen to Sacagawea sing. 

He glanced over at Octavius, who seemed enraptured by the music. His helmet was off, for once, and errant, brown tufts of hair stuck up from his head. 

Jed turned to look back at the young woman downstairs serenading Teddy. After a while, he felt a pressure against his side. Barely turning his head, he glanced over, although he already knew what he would find. 

Octavius had shifted slightly closer, and their arms were pressed together. Jed moved closer too, the barest fraction of an inch. He found himself holding his breath, and exhaled softly. This was a test, he knew, one step forward… to what? He didn’t know, he didn’t dare to think it. He felt that if he made one wrong move, something between them would break. 

They sat that way in silence and watched the music. 

Tilly left the next morning feeling pretty proud of herself. She even deigned to send Larry a thumbs-up emoji in response to his forty anxious texts throughout the night. 

Although things had went well last night, Tilly was still exhausted. It was no wonder that Larry had such bad separation anxiety, if he had been doing this for three months on his own. It seemed clear to Tilly that Larry considered these odd beings part of his family, and the only thing he loved more than his family was Jimmy Buffett. She hoped this break would be good for him. 

The museum director was the last one to leave the next day. As the sun went down, Tilly kept peeking into his office, hoping he would pack up soon, but he was immersed in some papers. 

This was unexpected. Larry had told her that the whole “museum comes to life at night” was a well-kept secret, but he hadn’t revealed if the museum director was in on it or not.

Well, Tilly thought wryly, if he didn’t know beforehand, he’s going to find out pretty soon. 

The sun went down. She ran around to the exhibits as fast as she could, miming for them to shut up and keep still. Tilly met the director in the Hall of Miniatures. 

He looked at her sharply. “Are you out of breath, Ms. Han?” 

The true answer was _yes, because I’ve been running around your museum for the past half hour, _but Tilly pasted on a smile. “No, sir. That’s, uh, just my asthma. It’s kicking up because of the dust, sir.” 

“Hm. Yes, dust,” The director remarked absently. He looked at the displays around him. 

Tilly spotted one of the railroad workers holding in a sneeze and gave him a threatening look. He looked helplessly at Jed, who threw a panicked glance back at Tilly. 

“You know, the board tells me we might have to put some of the miniatures in storage. Make room for a new exhibit. They have one in mind — it’s been popping about the other museums in the country — about aircraft in World War II.” The director scoffed. “Aircraft! Who wants a whole exhibit just about that? Waste of money, if you ask me.” 

“Yes, indeed,” Tilly said. She tried to usher the director down the hall, but he moved closer to Octavius’ tableau fondly. 

“You know, I’ve always liked these miniatures. Sometimes when I’m in a bad mood I— I come here and pretend I’m a giant.” He laughed. “Silly, isn’t it?” 

“Yes, sir. I mean, no, sir!” Tilly was too busy mouthing _Hold it in! _to the railroad worker to focus on what the director was telling her. 

The mini shrugged helplessly and let loose a raucous “Achoo!” 

The director straightened up. “Did you hear something?” 

“Uh, no sir.”

“I could have sworn I heard a mouse, or something. A cricket, maybe? God, that would be all we need.” 

“I didn’t hear anything,” Tilly lied. “Think you need some sleep, Mr. Director.” 

“I think you’re right, Ms. Han.” The director allowed her to push him (none too gently) down the stairs. “I must say, I like you much better than I like Mr. Daley. All he does is play pranks on me.” 

“Yes, well… have a good night!” She waved from the top of the steps. 

The director turned towards the doors, then slowly turned back around. Tilly cursed. 

The director stared at the empty base where the giant T-Rex skeleton had stood during the day. Then, he blinked, shook himself, and called, “I think I must need sleep, I’m seeing things now! Goodnight, Ms. Han.” 

As soon as he had locked the main doors behind him, Tilly whirled on the American West exhibit. 

“I specifically told you to keep quiet!” 

“Hey now,” Jed defended his people, “why don’t you go yell at the dinosaur? He didn’t listen, neither.” 

“The dinosaur,” Tilly growled, “doesn’t speak English.” 

“Well, neither does Jiang. Tell her, Jiang.” 

The railroad worker muttered in Chinese, “You try working with dynamite all day and see if you don’t get an itchy nose now and then.” 

“_Anjing_!” Tilly pointed at him fiercely, the way her mother would point at her. She couldn’t understand all of his dialect, but the way he quailed when she told him to quiet down made her guess that some phrases could be understood even through centuries of shifting language. 

“Did you hear what the director said?” Apoxpalon interrupted. “We’re gonna go into storage!” 

The hall erupted into chaos. Tilly stood, confused, at the center of a miniature tornado of shouting and panicking. 

She bent down to look at Octavius and whispered, “I don’t understand what’s happening right now.” 

He had moved to the very front of his exhibit, looking shaken. Octavius told Tilly, “Storage doesn’t come alive like us. Or at least, we don’t think they do.” 

Jed called over, “They’re locked up down there, and we’ve never seen ‘em. None of us knows what goes on in storage, and we’d like to keep it that way.” 

Tilly said, “So that’s why you’re all upset. Because you would be locked down there and you wouldn’t be able to see your friends?” 

Octavius looked over at Jed. Jed looked back. 

“Oh,” said Tilly. “Oh, I see.” She straightened up and raised her voice to address the hall’s occupants. “Everyone just calm down! I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, I promise.” 

Even so, the news spread fast throughout the museum. Soon a large group had gathered together on the main floor, arguing and fretting. Tilly joined them just as Lewis (of Lewis and Clark) said, “If the minis get put into storage, any of one us could be, too! Who’s next?” 

Sacagawea held out her hands in a soothing gesture. “Be calm, there’s no need to cause fear.” 

Clark said, “Don’t be stupid, Lewis! Hundreds of people come to see us every day! If anything, the exhibits that aren’t pulling a crowd would be the ones put in storage.” 

Sacagawea rolled her eyes and, giving up, went to stand with Ida B. Wells and the other women’s suffrage leaders. 

“What’s so scary about storage, anyway?” Tilly said. “You guys have really never been down there?” 

Everyone shook their heads. 

“I confess, although I am a guardian of the tablet and its people,” said Ahkmenrah, “Even I have never gone down to storage. The door has always been locked, and I have heard… strange sounds coming from behind it.” 

“Really?” Tilly observed him with narrowed eyes. “Well, I ain’t afraid of no ghosts. I’ll go unlock storage and put this mystery to rest. Who’s with me?” 

The museum residents suddenly found very interesting things to look at on the ceiling or floor. 

“No one?” Tilly said. “I’m disappointed. For all your talk of bravery, looks like you’re all just a bunch of chickens.” 

“Now, wait a minute—” Octavius said. 

Tilly flapped her elbows at him and made chicken noises. Attila the Hun shouted with laughter and joined her. 

“Fine!” Octavius said. “Fine, my people will come with you. Romans are not chickens!” 

Jed stepped forward as well. “And I refuse to be outdone by a man wearing a skirt.” 

Octavius gritted his teeth. “It’s not a _skirt, _it’s a lappet_,_” he said, with the air of someone who’s had this argument many times before, “It’s very manly.” 

“Sure it is.” Jed smiled easily at him. 

Octavius glared. 

“I will also go with you, Tilly,” Ahkmenrah said. “It is my duty to discover whether the range of the tablet extends to all things in the museum.” 

“Great,” Tilly said. “Solid team. Tweedledee and Tweedledum, do I need to carry you or what?” 

“Is she talking to us?” Jed whispered. 

“Yes, don’t get mad,” Octavius replied. To Tilly he said, “We have… alternate means of transportation.” 

“Meet me by the elevator in ten minutes.” She stomped away. 

“This is why I never let you drive,” Jed complained from the passenger seat ten minutes later. “She’s going to leave without us!” 

Octavius stopped to let a group of ostriches cross in front of them, and Jed banged his head back into the seat. 

“You drive like my grandma,” he moaned. 

Octavius only smirked, and managed to drive even more slowly just to see the look of frustration on Jed’s face. 

“Jumping Jehosaphats, are we even moving? Did you forget which pedal is which?” 

The car suddenly jumped forward as Octavius slammed his foot down on the gas. Jed was jolted forward in his seat as the car whined and accelerated. 

“Now that’s more like it!” He let out a triumphant, wordless shout. 

Octavius glanced over. “That fast enough for you?” 

Jed looked back at him, something challenging and dangerous in his eyes. It made Octavius’ heart speed up. “Go faster.” 

He did, pressing the pedal down almost as far as it could go. Octavius was still watching Jed, and he found himself a little breathless. “Good?” 

It seemed like Jed had a retort back, but all of a sudden he wilted and looked away. The strange electricity that had been building between them popped and dissolved. “Dammit, Octavius. See, it’s things like this is why I thought you wanted… never mind.” 

“What?” Octavius looked away from the road, to his side where Jed was staring out the window. 

The car hit a wall with a loud _bang_. Jed and Octavius were whipped to the back of their seats as the force of the collision stopped the car. 

“Shit,” Octavius said. 

A large foot nudged the car back from the wall, and Tilly’s face came into view. “Welcome to the party, boys. Sure took you long enough.” 

The elevator clanked ominously as the group made their way down to the basement. They stood tensely in silence. 

Ahkmenrah said, “Does anyone know any good jokes?” 

Jed’s face lit up. “Knock knock!” 

“Who’s there?” 

“Ben Hur.” 

Octavius snickered. 

Ahkmenrah said, somewhat warily, “Ben Hur who?”

Jed could hardly contain his excitement. “Ben Hur over and—”

“Nope!” Tilly said. “Absolutely not.” 

“Aw.” 

The elevator doors shuddered open. 

“We’re here,” Octavius said. 

Before they had left, Tilly had geared up with everything the museum gave her. It wasn’t much, but she shone her heavy duty flashlight on the storage door and fingered the pepper spray strapped to her side. 

Fumbling with her heavy ring of keys, Tilly managed to open the heavy door into blackness. 

“Hello?” She called out. “Anyone in here?” 

A scraping noise echoed through the dark. 

Jed and Octavius exchanged a glance, then took their seats in the car, in case they needed to make a quick getaway. 

Jed revved the engine in a show of bravado. “Are we going or what?” 

“Yeah, let’s go.” Tilly led the way, and Ahkmenrah followed. The little car drove alongside them. 

Almost immediately, the door slammed shut behind them. Tilly’s flashlight swept across the darkened hallway, but she didn’t see anything near them, just a long corridor of closed doors. 

“Wait,” Ahkmenrah said. He moved to the side and hit a light switch. 

The hallway brightened as the lights flickered on. They were dim hanging lights, but they were enough to see by. The group let out a sigh of relief. 

Down the hallway, a door opened, and then slammed shut again. 

The lights went out. 

Tilly hurriedly slammed on her flashlight again. 

“Okay,” Jed said. “We can all agree that was spooky, right?” 

Octavius nodded. Warily, he got out of the car and peered into the hallway, sword held aloft. 

A voice echoed down the hallway. “Go away!” 

“You can’t scare us,” Tilly yelled back. “We’re here to help you!” 

“To help us?” The deep voice cried. “To help us?! Get… out!” 

A loud scraping noise echoed down the hallway, getting closer. It was followed by an ominous growl, and a series of loud, otherworldly hoots. 

Tilly frowned. “Those sound like gorillas.” 

The sounds were coming closer, and were growing even more menacing. 

“Uh,” Ahkmenrah said, “We can discuss it outside!” 

He grabbed Tilly by the sleeve and pulled her back.

They managed to slam the storage door shut just as something pounced. Several thuds sounded against the door. From the car, the miniatures looked up at Tilly, who was trying to catch her breath.

“Alright,” Tilly said. “We’ll just have to come back tomorrow.” 

Tilly went to the Lewis and Clark exhibit just as the sun was setting the next night. 

“Ahkmenrah bailed because he’s a chickenshit,” she said without preamble as soon as the figures were awake. “But I found a map. The hallways down there are like a maze, so I need the best navigator I can get.” 

The men puffed up their chests, but Sacagawea only smiled and took Tilly’s outstretched hand. 

“Ready when you are, Commander!” Octavius saluted officially as the women reached the elevator. Behind him, legions of Roman soldiers stood at attention. 

Jed only smiled lazily. A ragtag team of his own people accompanied him, but Tilly didn’t doubt that the Wild Westers were ready to fight at any minute. 

Tilly turned her elevator key in the slot. “And so it begins again.” 

“I must confess,” Octavius said, sitting on the piles of paper. “I had thought there would be a little more excitement than this.” 

Jed made a sound of annoyance and kicked the giant pen in front of him. “When we’re put down here, this is what life’ll be like. Just papers and ink.” 

“When?” Octavius looked over in alarm. “My dear friend, surely you don’t think…?”

“And why shouldn’t I?” Jed’s drawl became more pronounced, as it always did when he was frustrated. “We haven’t found anything that’ll stop us from being put into storage. And so far, storage is boring as hell!” 

Octavius couldn’t disagree. “Perhaps Larry will find a way to allow us to stay.” 

But Jed shook his head. “We can’t count on Larry now, or Tilly. We can’t count on anyone but ourselves. That’s what bothers me most about this whole thing.” 

“What?” 

Jed stared at his shoes. “What if they put us in separate rooms? Ain’t no way I could lift the deadbolt on these doors.” 

Finally, Octavius understood. “I wouldn’t be able to see you anymore. No, I’m sure that wouldn’t happen. They would probably shove all us together in a box.” 

“That’s worse! Can you imagine being stuck in an eternity of boredom withApoxpalon? I would wring his neck before the night was done!” 

Octavius laughed. 

“Are you two helping over there?” Tilly said suspiciously. “Or are you gossiping?” 

“We’re helping,” Jed called back, clearly not helping. "I don’t see why we need to look through all of this anyway.”

“I already told you, there might be an index or something to tell us what’s down here! Do you think your men are having any more luck in the other room?” 

Octavius shrugged. “Who’s to say?” 

“I think this is a book of some sort,” Sacagawea said, rifling through some papers. She squinted at the messy handwriting. “No, it is a thesis on a poet named… Sappho.” 

Jed pointed. “Well, if we run into her, the two of us are off the hook. You gals’ll be doing the heavy work, if you know what I mean.” 

Tilly glared. 

Octavius said to Jed, “If we are put into storage, I would not let us be separated!” 

“Say it again, without the theatrics.” Jed didn’t look up from the poem he was reading. “I know you have your sword hand up, take it out of the air.” 

Octavius did, in fact, have his hand raised up in an inspiring position. He lowered his arm and said, a bit sheepishly, “If we are put into storage, it would be… lonely. I would miss you.” 

Jed did look up at that. He had to clear his throat a few times before speaking. “I would miss you, too.” 

Octavius found that he, too, needed to clear his throat. Jed punched him on the arm in a manly fashion. Octavius punched him back. 

“I think this is a dead end,” Sacagawea said, stretching out her neck. 

Tilly stood up with a sigh. “Onward and upward.” 

“Retreat, retreat!” Tilly yelled as black panthers chased them down the hallway. Miniatures ran screaming from their huge paws. 

They had gotten farther into storage this time. In fact, it was the farthest they had traveled yet, with the help of Sacagawea’s keen ears listening for any signs of trouble. But the big cats had crept up on them, and now Tilly’s army was running amok down the halls. 

“Regroup in the moldy sandwich room!” Octavius yelled in his commander’s voice. 

Tilly and Jed yelled his orders to the rest of the group, but Sacagawea suddenly stopped and stood like a statue where the hallway diverged. 

“What are you doing?” Tilly yelled. The cats wiggled their butts, preparing to pounce. Swearing, Tilly ran forward and grabbed Sacagawea out of the way, towing her towards the corridor opposite the rest of the minis. “Go, we’ll meet you in the moldy sandwich room! Go!” 

She saw most of them get to safety through another door that was cracked open, but then the panthers turned back to Tilly, and she had other problems. 

Sacagawea grabbed her hand. “Run! There is an open door further down!” 

“Oh sure, _now _you’re running,” Tilly griped, but she did as she was told.

Octavius didn’t know whose idea it had been to shove an Amazon exhibit into a storage room, but that had most definitely been where the bloodthirsty panthers had come from. 

They had ducked inside and found themselves in a towering mess of trees and info panels on various creatures. The miniatures ran through it as best they could. Most of the Roman soldiers found a large leaf to hide under, but growls that shook the earth let them know that they were still being pursued. 

“Hide!” Jed told the miniatures still with them. Some of the cowboys had scaled a tree and were now throwing berries down at the big cats. 

The other miniatures were hiding in strategic positions, leaving only Jed and Octavius out in the open. If the cats stopped and looked around, though, they would see all the others nearby. 

“What does a good leader do above all costs?” Octavius asked, panting.

“I don’t know,” Jed shot back. He was doubled over, trying to catch his breath. “I bet you’re gonna tell me."

“They risk themselves to save their people.” 

There seemed to be miles of foliage still ahead of them. 

“You up for a run, partner?” Jed managed to smile at Octavius. 

They turned and ran, yelling “Here, cats! Come here, mean kitties!” as the pair led the panthers farther away from their troops.

Without any warning, the exhibit ended. The platform that they had been running on just stopped, leading the two miniatures to skid to a halt before a cliff. 

A panther stalked up to them, snarling. Jed and Octavius had a very good view of its teeth dripping with saliva. 

Octavius drew his sword, though he didn’t think it would be very effective against such a predator. Optimistically he said, “Nice kitty?”

With one swipe of its large paw, the panther knocked both of them over the edge of the platform. They fell, screaming, through the air. 

Tilly and Sacagawea were resting on a pile of boxes when a horrific caterwauling cut through the air. Sacagawea sat straight up, nearly dislodging Tilly. 

“That’s the sound I heard before!” She exclaimed, eyes wide. “It’s a child!” 

“A child?” Tilly was wondering if she had pulled a muscle in her side hoisting them both onto these godforsaken boxes. “Sounds more like a demon.” 

Sacagawea leaped gracefully onto the ground. “Come on!” 

There were clearly pros to being made of wax. Tilly had definitely pulled a muscle, but, groaning, she followed Sacagawea down the dimly lit hall.

When Octavius came to, he was lying on the ground. Looking around for Jed, he found that somehow his friend had gotten purchase on the side of the platform, far above him in the air, and was hanging on for dear life. 

“You have to jump!” Octavius yelled, but Jed hung fast to the cliff edge. 

“I’ll fall and break!” Jed called back.  
“I’ll catch you! Just jump!” 

Jed looked perilously over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of Octavius. “Leave me and go!” 

But Octavius only stretched out his arms. “I will catch you, I promise!” 

“Why?” Jed’s voice cracked. 

“Why?” Octavius’ throat was strained, but he dismissed the scraping of his voice and yelled as loudly as he could. “Because I love you, you stupid idiot! I’m going to catch you! I’m always gonna be there to catch you! So for God’s sake, jump or gravity will do the work for you!” 

Jed let go of the cliff and jumped. 

He landed heavily on Octavius, and for a moment they both lay there catching their breath, staring at the ceiling above. 

Jed said, “I think your face hit my elbow.” 

Octavius scoffed. “Oh, really? _My _face hit _your _elbow? Not the other way around?” 

“You got me right on my funny bone,” Jed complained. “It’s all tingling and hurting-like.” 

“Well, imagine how my face feels,” Octavius said, and started to laugh. 

Jed propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at Octavius. “You really love me?” 

“Yes,” Octavius said, simply. “I do.” 

“Oh. Well, I suppose that’s alright, then.” 

Octavius sat up delightedly. “Are you blushing?” 

“No!” Jed batted his hand away. “Get out of here. Did you also call me a stupid idiot?”

“Funny, I don’t remember that.”

Jed tried to glare at him and failed. “You’re lucky I like you.”

Octavius’ grin was so wide it nearly split his face in half. “Oh, you like me?” 

“‘Course I do. I’m crazy over you, Octavius.” Jed’s blue eyes were soft.

Octavius looked up at him. Faced with Jed's quiet beauty -- his nose, crooked from a few too many punches, his eyes that always found Octavius first, no matter how crowded the room was, the freckles on his right cheekbone like a tiny constellation -- faced with all that, Octavius' breath caught and he wondered how he could have been so stupid as to say no when Jed first propositioned him. His past self would have surely wasted away from longing, never knowing that Jed loved him as friends, as partners, and as something _more_. 

"Stop thinkin' so much," Jed said quietly. He leaned forward, closer, and for a moment Octavius thought -- 

The ground underneath them rumbled dangerously, as if a big animal were coming their way. Jed grabbed Octavius’ hand and pulled him up. “Time to go!” 

The closer they got to the odd sound, the more Tilly agreed that it did sound like a child. Alternately it stopped crying and began babbling and laughing. She was still not convinced that it wasn’t a demon. 

“Are you sure about this, Sacagawea?” 

The other woman did not slow her pace. “I’m sure. I _know _this sound, I don’t — we need to get to the baby!” 

“The baby?” Tilly glanced at her friend, worried. In the few days that they’d known each other, Sacagawea had always been cool and levelheaded. This anxiety was new, and Tilly wasn’t sure she liked it. 

They stopped before a shut door. 

Sacagawea grabbed Tilly’s arm. “Do you have the key?”

“I— I have a skeleton key…” Hands shaking, Tilly fit the key into the lock. It clicked open. 

The room inside was almost entirely dark, except for the light from the hallway. Sure enough, a baby lay on a blanket on the floor, wrapped in a cloth. 

Sacagawea cried out and ran to the child. “My baby!” 

“Your— what?” 

As soon as Sacagawea picked up the child, it stopped fussing. She brought the swaddling cloth to her chest almost unconsciously, her arms fitting perfectly through the straps. She looked up at Tilly, eyes teary. “I always felt there was something missing. But I wasn’t sure, when you only have yourself for so long… I thought maybe I was mistaken. But I wasn’t! He must have been separated from me when I first arrived at the museum.” 

Tilly could only say, “Wow.” 

Sacagawea pressed a kiss to the baby’s head. “Oh, my boy.” 

“Wow,” Tilly said again. She shook herself, “I mean, what is Teddy gonna say? Can I also point out how crazy it is that you’re dating Theodore Roosevelt?” 

Sacagawea didn’t look concerned. “Teddy is a good man. And they may not seem like it, but Lewis and Clark are surprisingly good babysitters.” 

A voice from the darkness snarled, “Well isn’t this cute?” 

Tilly whirled, holding her flashlight up like a weapon. 

A statue about her height was dragging itself from the corner — they heard the familiar scraping sound as a Giza sphinx came into view. 

“That child stays with me. I’ve watched over him for years when we were locked away from the rest of the museum. This place is filled with everyone who fell through the cracks. Too defective, too expensive. But we look after one another down here. We're a family. I won't let anything threaten my family.” The sphinx had a deep, loud voice. The scraping was coming from its hind legs, which were permanently fused together. 

Sacagawea held the baby closer to her chest. “I will bring him back up with me, where he belongs.” 

“Okay,” Tilly came to stand between them, ready to go for the pepper spray if she needed to. “I’m sure we can all come to an agreement here.” 

The sphinx snarled, “We don’t need your help, jailer.” 

Larry had told Tilly a brief version of what had happened with the old night guards. She said, “I know they locked you up. But the old guards were defeated. It’s only me and another guy, and we aren't jailers. He lets all the residents out at night. As long as they get back into their spots by morning, it’s not a problem anymore.” 

“Then where have you been? Forgot about us down here in the basement?” 

“Okay, look, lady.” Tilly shook her flashlight at the sphinx’s face. “This is only, like, my fourth night on the job. Cut me a little slack.” 

Sacagawea said softly, “We didn’t know you were down here. It is our fault, we should have checked sooner.”

The sphinx grunted, but her hackles settled down. 

“That’s good,” Tilly coaxed. “We can fix this, starting now. Would you like to come out into the museum at night with everyone else?” 

“No! I don’t want your scraps of pity,” The sphinx snarled. Then she paused for a moment and sighed. “But… there may be some who wish to roam the other floors. They are tired of our kingdom under the ground, they talk of making contact with residents on the other floors.” 

“That sounds like a good compromise,” Tilly said. “I bet we can come to some sort of agreement, as long as you call those panthers off of our people and recognize me and Larry’s authority.”

“Agreed. What about the child?” The sphinx said. 

Sacagawea looked at Tilly, pleading silently. 

Tilly thought about it. Finally she said, “The little boy belongs with his mother.” 

The sphinx looked at the ground, crestfallen. “Very well.” 

“But—” Tilly said, “you have looked after him for years down here on your own. I bet that wasn’t easy, but he looks like you took good care of him.” 

Sacagawea said, “Tilly, I will support your decision, whatever it is.” 

Tilly looked at the two of them. Tentatively, she broke into a smile. “Have you guys ever heard of joint custody?” 

“Well,” Octavius said, “I guess that’s all settled.” 

Jed agreed quietly, “Yeah, guess so.” 

They were in the car, just because they could be, driving back slowly to their exhibits. The confessions of love still hung in the air between them. It was almost sunrise. 

“I want you to know,” Jed said, “even if one of us ends up being put in storage, I would come and find you every night. It don’t matter where they lock us up, there’s no way I could be kept apart from you.” 

“Thanks,” Octavius said, then winced. _Thanks _was in no means an adequate response, but Jed nodded as if he understood anyway. 

They parked the car in silence and climbed back up to their tableaus. Octavius swung up into the Wild West exhibit, though, and stood there as if waiting. 

“You better get going, partner,” Jed said easily. Around them, the museum residents were returning to their stations as the sky paled and dawn crept ever closer. 

Octavius didn’t spare a glance at the sky. “Jedidiah, wait. I don’t care if I’m not back in time. I need you to know that the only reason I said no, before, was… well, really, I was scared because you mean so much to me. And I don’t just want to _eat pizza _with you, I want to be romantic and—and take you out to eat pizza!”

Jed’s eyebrows rose. 

“Not like that, you know what I mean. I just… I didn’t want to ruin anything between us.” 

“Now, you listen to me.” Jed stepped closer to Octavius and grabbed him by the helmet. “_Nothing_ is gonna be ruined, you hear me? Nothing. It’s just gonna get better.” 

Jed kissed him, hard. When they broke apart, Octavius tried to remember how to breathe. Did he need to breathe? He couldn’t recall, Jed and Jed’s mouth and Jed’s tongue had wiped all other thoughts from his mind. 

“You stupid idiot.” Jedidiah was smiling fondly. 

Octavius pulled him closer to kiss him again. Jed’s arms wrapped around him tightly as their lips met.

The sun rose. 

Larry came back to the museum skipping. After a few days, he had stopped worrying about the museum and begun enjoying himself. He had taken Nicky to the zoo, sung along to Margaritaville with Rebecca and not messed up a single word, and discovered that he could rock a Hawaiian shirt. It was possible that the vacation had been good for him, after all. 

He hadn’t heard anything from Tilly, except a cryptic text earlier this morning that had only said: _u never went into storage before? _

It was probably nothing. He was, after all, still in Vacation Larry mode and refused to overthink it. 

As Larry walked in to the museum, he found the director waiting for him, pacing anxiously.

“Well, I don’t know how you’ve done it, but you’ve managed to play yet another prank on me.” The director was clearly agitated. “Did you switch out the figurines completely? It’s good handiwork, I assure you, but it is never funny when you mess around with the exhibits, Mr. Daley.” 

Vacation Larry vanished. 

“What are you talking about?” Night Guard Larry said. His stomach had suddenly flipped over. 

The director fixed him with an aggravated stare. “The miniatures?” 

Larry shrugged. 

As if it pained him, the director said very slowly, “The cowboy and the Roman general are kissing. In the American West exhibit.”

Larry’s stomach flipped back into its rightful spot, and he broke out into a smile. “Are they really? Aw, good for them.” 

“Indeed,” the director said, grimacing. 

“Look,” Larry said, the news buoying him into a sudden good mood, “I don’t know what you want me to say. I was away all week, I couldn’t have done this. It was probably some kids being pranksters.” 

The director looked at him suspiciously. 

Larry slapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, man, they’re in love! Get with the times.” 

The director opened his mouth to yell, but someone interrupted with a timid, “Excuse me?” 

Both of them turned to look. A young woman was standing in front of them, holding her phone. “Are you the museum’s director?”

“I am. What can I do for you?” 

“Oh, um…I just wanted to say how much I appreciated what you guys did with the little statues. My girlfriend is hiding over there— she’s a huge history buff but she’s too shy to come over — anyway, she said to tell you that it was ‘a really nice recognition of the same-sex practices in both cultures that tend to be overlooked in the historical narrative.’” The girl beamed up at them nervously. 

Larry noticed that she had a pin on her jacket representing Rosie the Riveter. His heart softened, and he nudged the director. “Hear that? Not all bad things come from shaking it up a little.” 

“What’s your name, young lady?” The director extended his hand. 

“Oh, I’m Jenna. Jenna Murrey. And my girlfriend’s name is Lucy Rodriguez, she’s a History and Classics major at NYU.” 

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Murrey. Thanks for your input.” 

Larry shook her hand, too. “So you really like the new miniatures?” 

“Of course!” Jenna smiled at Larry. “I hope you don’t mind, but I posted about it on Facebook. And, well… I think people like it.” 

Jed and Octavius woke up as the sun went down, and stepped away from each other sheepishly. Jed was stretching out the kinks in your neck that occur when you spend twelve hours locked in an embrace with someone wearing an awkward helmet, when he heard excited shouting coming towards them. 

“Looks like Larry’s back,” Octavius said. “To think we had some peace and quiet for a whole week.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t say it was that quiet.” Jed smirked at Octavius. 

Larry was now standing above them, waving a phone in their faces. “Mazel tov, you guys. And also, I have good news — none of you are going to get moved out of here anytime soon.” 

“That _is_ good news!” Apoxpalon yelled from across the way. 

The other miniatures cheered. 

“Why did they change their minds?” Jed asked. 

Larry grinned at them, and dropped his phone into the exhibit for the miniatures to read. “You’ve gone viral.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I watched the first movie and wanted to write for it because it was so light-hearted and fun! So I wrote this... and then I watched the second movie and realized they have basically the same plot. Oops? It was a complete accident.


End file.
